Panic-bolt



G. VOIGHT.

' PPPPPP 0LT.

APPLICATION FILED DE 7 1,345,041 Patented June 29, 1920 3 EEEEEEEEEEEE l. E 7- 1. $1?

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WIIMW" H. G VOIGHT.

PANIC BOLT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC,8. 1917.

Patented June 29, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET H. G. VOIGHT.

PANIC BOLT.

APPLICATION'FILE'D DEC.8| 19w.

Patented June 29, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY e. VOIGHT, or new BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR'TO SARGENT &' COM- PANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A. CORPORATION OF coNNEcTIctiT.

PANIC-BOLT.

Applicationfiled December 8, 19 17. Serial No. 206,323.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRrGrVoIoH r, a I

citizen of the United States, residing in New Britain, county of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new-and useful Improvements in, Panic-Bolts, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. 7 I

This invention relates to emergency exit looks or so-called panic bolts of the type which are applied to the doors of schoolliouses, theaters, department stores and other buildings for facilitating exit where a fire or the like causes panic. V

This invention refers more particularly to panic bolt mechanism inwliich the door is provided with bolts adapted to engage keepers or strike plates on the lintel and floor respectively and arranged to be released from said strike plates or keepers by means of aswinging cross-bar on the inner face of the door. The improved panic bolt is somewhat similar in some features, to thatdescribed in'my Patent No. 1,163,795, dated December 14L, 1915, with the difference, however, that in the present case there are upper and lower sliding boltmernbers actuated in opposite directions respectively by the manipulation of the cross-bar. In the improved construction, as in the prior device, one of the boltmembers has associated therewith a detent device for holding the boltsin retracted position automatically on the re-' traction of the bolts and for releasing the bolt members automatically when thedoor is closed.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a panic bolt having improved and simplified means for actuating.

the bolts from the cross-bar whether the cross-bar is moved downward or upward. This increases to a'considera'ble extent the scope and utility of the panic bolt because the door can be opened by pushing laterally or downward against the cross bar or by pulling the bar in an upward direction. In my improved construction, the connection between the cross-bar and the bolt or bolts is extremelysimple anddirect, and the cost of the panic bolt is therefore materially reduced. The construction and arrangement of the operating parts of the bolts are very simple and inexpensive, while at the same time they are durable and efficient.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of" parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

Iii the accompanying drawings:

F gure l'is an inside elevation of a door equipped with one form of my improved panic bolt, showing the door in its closed position; i

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the casing in which one end of the cross-bar is mounted and in which the lower and upper portions respectively of the bolt members are housed, the cross bar being in the normal position Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the bolt members retracted by the depression of the cross-bar;

' 1 1g. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the retraction of the bolt members by the p raising of the cross-bar;

5 is a rear view of the intermediate casing shownin Fig. 2, with the back plate removed, the bolt members and cross-bar Specification of Letters Patent. P t ted J time 29, 1920.

of the room with the inside wall, viz., the

outer casing wall, broken away to show the walking beam and spring, and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the door and the floor, upon which the lower bolt and the cooperating strike plate are mounted.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown my improvements applied to'a panic bolt mechanism embodying a bolt at the upper edge of the door for cooperating with a 1 1 strike plate or keeper on the lintel, an oppositely acting bolt at the lower edge of the door cooperating with a strike or keeper in the floor, and a swinging cross-bar extending across the door and adapted to release the bolts when v"said cross-bar is moved either upward or downward relatively to its pivotal support or fulcrum. Both bolts are of the square headed type, and the upper bolt has associated therewith certain detent so that they thereupon take into their respective keepers. The bolt heads are of the sliding type'and are actuated by the crossbar in opposite directions, the lower bolt head being pulled up by operation of the cross-bar simultaneously with the pulling down of the lower bolt. 'All of these features, however, are not essential parts of the invention.

The door A is mounted in a frame or casing B, and is adapted to open outward, as usual in doors equipped with emergency exit looks or fasteners. The door'swings directly over the floor C in the present instance, there being no threshold. A strike plate or keeper 20 of customary form is mortised in the floor, as best shown in Fig. 8, and is adapted to be engaged by a sliding lower bolt member 21 having a square head 22 which engages the opening in the keeper 20. The bolt member 21 is guided vertically on the inner face of the door at the lower portion thereof by a guide clip 23 applied to the lower inner face of the door by an attaching plate 24. In stating that the bolt head 22 is of the square headed type, I mean to indicate that its lower end is at right angles to the axis instead of being beveled like a latch bolt. The sliding bolt member 21 extends upwardly approximatelytothe middle portion of the door,

and at its upper end it is secured to a part or extension 25 entering an intermediate casing D applied to the middle portion of the door nearthe free edge thereof. It will be understood, of course, thatthe door is hinged at the right of Fig. 1 and that thebolt mechanism is arranged adjacent the left-hand edge. The bolt mechanism includes a swinglng crossbar E which is pivoted to the door at oneend of the bar, as shown at 26, and is pivoted to the casing 5} adjacent the other end of the cross-bar, as shown at 27. The cross-bar E is pivoted to the casing D between parallel lugs 28 extending integrally from the front wall of the casing. A pivot 29 for the cross-bar extends through the lugs 28 and through a portion adjacent the end of the cross-bar,

' a portion or-finger 30 on the cross-bar extending beyond. the pivot 29 within the casing. The inner end of the extension 30 is rounded and is adapted to contact either with an abutment or lug 31. on the lower bolt member or a similar abutment or lug 32 on the upper bolt member. The outwardly extending portion of the sliding member 25 is formed as a sleeve 25 having interior screw threads engaging screw threads on the upper extremity of the lower bolt rod. Within the case, the slide 25 is offset and guided vertically in the casing, as shown in Fig. 5. It is held in place between the front wall 33 and the rear plate 34 of the casing, and it is also held in place between a side wall 35 of the casing and a guide' lug 36. The abutment 31on the slide projects'laterally therefrom intermediate of the length of the slide. The upper bolt member comprises a slide 37 in the case D generally similar to the slide or extension 25. The upper end of the slide 37 has a sleeve 38, into which the lower end of the upper bolt rod 39 is screwed. The slide 37 is guided by the walls of the casing and by the guide lug 38, said slide being located at the right hand side of the casing and at the upper portion thereof, as shown in Fig. The inner extremity of the cross-bar is interposed between the abutments 31, 32, and above the abutments 31, 32 the slides 25,, 37 are interconnected by a walkingbeam 40 pivoted intermediate of its ends on a post 41 projecting from the front wall of the casing, and having slots 42 at the respective ends thereof engaging pins 43,44 on the respective slides. WVhen the back plate 2 34 is held in the assembled position by a screw 45, the walking beam 40 will be prop erly held in place, and a spring 46 coiled about the post 41 and reacting at one end 47 against the walking beam and at the other end against a pin or projection'48 on the casing normally urges the walking beam in aclock-wise direction with respect to Fig. 5, so that the boltmembers 21, 39

will be held normally in the protracted positions. lVhen the cross-bar is swung downward from'theposition shown in Fig.

2 to that shown in Fig. 3, the slide 25 is carried upward by the engagement of the extremity 30 with the lug 31, thereby pushing upward the lower bolt member, and the upper bolt member is simultaneously pulled downward through its connection with the upper bolt member by the walking beam, whereby both bolts are simultaneously released. When, on the other hand, the crosstion shown in Fig. 5, with the lug .31 pressing down on the inner end of the cross-bar from above and the lug 32 pressing up on the inner end of the cross-bar from beneath. In this position, the cross-bar is free to swing either up or down, and either movement will retract bothbolts. Whether the bolts are released by either a downward movement ofthe bar, as in Fig. 3 or an upward movement, as in Fig. 4, the spring acting on the walking beamtends to return the parts to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

Adjacent the upper edge of the door A is mounted a rim casing applied to the face of the door, and in this casing a bolt head is slidably mounted and is secured to the upper end of the bolt member 39. In the casing 50 a detent member (not shown) is preferably mounted to dog the upper bolt in its retracted position andthis in turn dogs the lower bolt in its retracted'position since the bolt members 21 and 39 are operatively connected together by the walkingbeam- 40. The bolt mounted in the casing 50 cooperates with a strike plate or keeperfii mounted upon the door frame, and this strike plate is preferably provided with a clownwardly projecting finger .65 positioned to engage the detent mounted within the casing 50 to therebyrelease the bolt mem here 39, 21 as the door reachesits closedposition. The construction and operation of the detent mechanism mounted within the casing 50 is clearly disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 262,659, filed November 15, 1918. 7

It will be understood that as the cross-bar E is either depressed or elevated, both bolt heads are simultaneously moved out-of the respective keepers, and asthe detent mechanism comes into play just as soon as the upper bolt is fully released and thereby locks both bolts in the retracted position,the bolt heads will not project beyond the up per and lower edges respectively of the door while the door remains open. More particularly, the lower bolt will be effectivelyheld up'i'rom the floor so that it will not contact with or drag on the same, regardless of any pressure that may be put on the cross-bar while the door remains open. When the door is closed, however, the detent is automatically released by coming into contact with the depending finger 65 above mentioned. When the bolts are retracted by upward or downward pressure on the crossbar, the door opens immediately, and when it ispartially opened, the finger 65 is no longer in the way of the detent, and the latter is, therefore, free to move into locking engagement with the upper bolt under the influence of a spring.

It will be seen that by my invention the bolt mechanism may be released either by an upward or a downward movement of the cross-bar and at the same time the construction of the parts in the casing D is've'ry' simple, the cross-ban, having a direct cooperation with both of the sliding bolt members.

Various changes may be made in the details oi the construction without departure from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

' 'VVhat I claimis:

1. In'a panic bolt, a pair of oppositely moving sliding bolt members, an operating member adapted to be moved in one direc tion into'direct cooperation with one of said members and to be moved in the opposite direction into direct cooperation with the other member, and a walking beam for operatively connecting said bolt members whereby the operation of one bolt member operates the other bolt member;

' 2. In a panic bolt, a pivoted operating bar having an operating projection located beyond the pivot, a pair of oppositely moving elements to be actuated having abutments between which said operating projection-is interposed, and a rocking lever separate from said'bar for operatively connecting said'pair of elements.

In a panicbolt, a pair of sliding bolt members, a lever connection between said members, means movable in one direction to shift one of said members and movable in the otherdirection to shift the other member, said' neans including a pivoted bar having an operating projection, and abutments on the respective members disposed on opposite sides of said operating projection and positioned to be operatively engaged thereby.

In a panic 'bolt, a pair of oppositely moving bolt members having laterally extending abutments arranged in parallelism, an operating bar having an operating finger interposed between said abutments to operatively engage either abutment, and means independent of saidabutments for impart= ingfthe movement of one bolt to the other.

5. In a panic bolt, a pair of oppositely moving bolt members having laterally extending abutments arranged in parallelism, an operating bar having an operating finger interposed between said abutments to operatively engage the same, said operating bar movable in one direction to operate one of said bolt members directly and movable in the opposite direction to operate the-other member directly, and means independent of said operating bar for imparting the movement of one bolt to the other.

6. In a panic bolt, a pair of parallel bolt members each havingan abutment projecting laterally toward the other member, said abutments being substantially parallel to each other, an operating bar, a pivot for said bar, and an operating extensionon said bar beyond the pivot interposed between said abutments to operatively engage either abutment, and a walking beam operatively connecting said bolts.

7 In a panic bolt, a casing, a pair "of sliding bolt members mounted in said casing, a walking beam connecting said members for movement in opposite directions, and

an operating lever pivoted to said casing and having direct engagement with one of said members when said lever is shifted in one direction, said lever having direct engagement with the other member when the lever is shifted in the other direction.

8. In a lock, a pair of sliding bolts arranged in parallelism and interconnected to said bolts and adapted to cooperate directly with one of said bolts to move it in one direction and to cooperate directly with the other bolt to move it in the other direction.

10. In a lock,'a pair of sliding bolts ar 'anged in parallelism, means interconnecting said bolts for imparting the movement of one bolt to the other boltbut in an opposite direction, and a manually engageable operating member for said bolts interposed between the same and movable in one direction to cooperate directly with one of said bolts and therebyactuate it in one direction, said operating member being movable in the other direction to cooperate directly with the other bolt and thereby shift it in a corresponding direction.

l1. In a lock, a case, a pair of sliding members mounted therein in parallelism to each other, means connecting said members for movement in opposite directions, and an operating member pivoted to one side of said case and having a portion interposed between said sliding members, said operat- 7 ing member being movable in either of two directions and adapted when moved in one direction to cooperate directly with one sliding member, and when moved in the opposite direction to cooperate with the other sliding 7 ments positioned one'labove the other in sub- F stantially vertical alinement, an. operating lever pivotally mounted upon said casing having a projection interposed between said abutm'ents to retract one bolt member when moved in one direction, and to retractthe other bolt member when moved in theopposite direction, and. means for imparting the movement of one bolt to the other but in an opposite direction.

13 In a panic bolt, a pair of oppositely moving sliding bolt members, an" abutment formed upon each of said members, a pivoted' operating lever havingan end interposed between said ab'utments, said end engaging one abutment to retract the bolt member upon which the same is formed when moved in one direction and engaging the other abutment to retract its bolt mem ber when moved in the opposite direction, 

